U.S. patent number 9,860,784 [Application Number 14/717,859] was granted by the patent office on 2018-01-02 for techniques for scheduling communications in wireless networks with traffic aggregation.
This patent grant is currently assigned to QUALCOMM Incorporated. The grantee listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Gerardo Giaretta, Gavin Bernard Horn, Ozcan Ozturk.
United States Patent |
9,860,784 |
Ozturk , et al. |
January 2, 2018 |
Techniques for scheduling communications in wireless networks with
traffic aggregation
Abstract
Certain aspects of the described aspects relate to scheduling
communications in wireless networks using traffic aggregation. A UE
communicates with a first access point using a first RAT over a
first connection to access a first wireless network, and with a
second access point using a second RAT over a second connection.
The UE can receive, from the first access point, one or more
parameters for scheduling communications with the second access
point. The UE can also schedule communications with the second
access point based at least in part on the one or more
parameters.
Inventors: |
Ozturk; Ozcan (San Diego,
CA), Horn; Gavin Bernard (La Jolla, CA), Giaretta;
Gerardo (La Jolla, CA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
QUALCOMM Incorporated (San
Diego, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
55181521 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/717,859 |
Filed: |
May 20, 2015 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20160037380 A1 |
Feb 4, 2016 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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62031988 |
Aug 1, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W
72/14 (20130101); H04W 28/0278 (20130101); H04W
72/1278 (20130101); H04W 76/16 (20180201); H04W
48/20 (20130101); H04W 72/0453 (20130101); H04L
5/001 (20130101); H04W 48/18 (20130101); H04W
88/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04W
28/02 (20090101); H04W 72/04 (20090101); H04W
72/14 (20090101); H04W 48/20 (20090101); H04L
5/00 (20060101); H04W 48/18 (20090101); H04W
88/08 (20090101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2 884 711 |
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Jun 2015 |
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EP |
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WO-2011/159215 |
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Dec 2011 |
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WO |
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WO-2014/047942 |
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Apr 2014 |
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WO |
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Other References
International Search Report and Written
Opinion--PCT/US2015/038285--ISA/EPO--dated Sep. 25, 2015. (11 total
pages). cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Wu; Jianye
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Arent Fox LLP
Parent Case Text
CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119
The present Application for Patent claims priority to Provisional
Application No. 62/031,988 entitled "TECHNIQUES FOR SCHEDULING
COMMUNICATIONS IN WIRELESS NETWORKS WITH TRAFFIC AGGREGATION" filed
Aug. 1, 2014, which is assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby
expressly incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for scheduling communications in wireless networks
using traffic aggregation, comprising: communicating, by a user
equipment (UE), with a first access point using a first RAT to
access a first wireless network over a first connection;
communicating, by the UE, with a second access point using a second
RAT to access a second wireless network over a second connection,
wherein the second RAT supports opportunistic communication, and
wherein communicating with the second access point is based at
least in part on the first access point configuring traffic
aggregation for the UE to communicate with both of the first access
point and the second access point; receiving, by the UE and from
the first access point after the traffic aggregation is configured,
one or more parameters related to determining resources for
scheduling, by the UE, communications with the second access point
over the second connection, wherein the one or more parameters are
related to scheduling the communications over the second connection
and based on the second RAT; and configuring, by the UE determining
the resources based at least in part on the one or more parameters,
the communications with the second access point, in the traffic
aggregation with the first access point.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters
include a maximum packet size for communicating with the second
access point.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters
include a packet size for communicating with the second access
point.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a buffer
status report to the first access point, wherein the one or more
parameters include a differential between the buffer status report
and a resource grant received for communicating with the first
access point to be used in configuring communications with the
second access point.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters
include a target or maximum throughput for communicating with the
second access point for a duration.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more parameters
include one or more additional parameters for calculating the
resources for achieving the target or maximum throughput, wherein
configuring communications with the second access point is based at
least in part on the resources.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters
include a ratio between resources of a resource grant received for
communicating with the first access point and resources for
scheduling communications with the second access point, and wherein
configuring communications with the second access point includes
determining the resources for scheduling communications with the
second access point based at least in part on applying the ratio to
resources of the resource grant.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters
include a ratio between a determined throughput rate in
communicating with the first access point and a throughput rate for
scheduling communications with the second access point, and wherein
configuring communications with the second access point includes
determining the throughput rate for scheduling communications with
the second access point based at least in part on applying the
ratio to the throughput rate in communicating with the first access
point.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters
include a ratio of buffered data to communicate with the second
access point, and wherein configuring communications with the
second access point comprises determining the resources based at
least in part on applying the ratio to an amount of data in a
buffer for communicating in the first wireless network.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, to the
first access point, a request for communicating using an amount of
resources with the second access point, wherein the one or more
parameters include a response to the request.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters
correspond to communicating with the second access point over one
or more component carriers, one or more logical channels, or one or
more logical channel groups.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first RAT is a wireless wide
area network technology and the second RAT is a wireless local area
network technology.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting feedback
information regarding communicating with the second access point to
the first access point, wherein the one or more parameters are
based at least in part on the feedback information.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the feedback information
includes at least one of channel conditions with the second access
point, a modulation and coding scheme, a data rate, or a measure of
channel interference.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the one or more
parameters comprises receiving one or more validation parameters
specifying at least one of a start time, a stop time, a duration,
or an interval for using the one or more parameters in determining
the resources for configuring communications with the second access
point.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating with the second
access point comprises accessing the first wireless network via the
second wireless network to implement the traffic aggregation.
17. An apparatus for scheduling communications in wireless networks
using traffic aggregation, comprising: a transceiver for
communicating one or more signals with one or more access points; a
memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein
the at least one processor is configured to: communicate, via the
transceiver, with a first access point using a first RAT over a
first connection to access a first wireless network; communicate,
via the transceiver, with a second access point using a second RAT
over a second connection to access a second wireless network,
wherein the second connection is configured by the first access
point to implement traffic aggregation with the first connection,
and wherein the second RAT supports opportunistic communication;
receive, via the transceiver and from the first access point after
the traffic aggregation is configured, one or more parameters
related to determining resources for scheduling communications for
communicating, via the transceiver, with the second access point
over the second connection, wherein the one or more parameters are
related to scheduling the communications over the second connection
and based on the second RAT; and schedule, via the transceiver and
by determining the resources based at least in part on the one or
more parameters, communications with the second access point, in
the traffic aggregation with the first access point.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more parameters
include a maximum packet size or a packet size for communicating
with the second access point.
19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor
is further configured to transmit a buffer status report to the
first access point, wherein the one or more parameters include a
differential between the buffer status report and a resource grant
received for communicating with the first access point be used in
configuring communications with the second access point.
20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more parameters
include a target or maximum throughput for communicating with the
second access point for a duration.
21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more parameters
include a ratio between resources of a resource grant received for
communicating with the first access point and resources for
scheduling communications with the second access point, and wherein
the at least one processor is configured to schedule communications
with the second access point by determining the resources for
scheduling communications with the second access point based at
least in part on applying the ratio to resources of the resource
grant.
22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more parameters
include a ratio between a determined throughput rate in
communicating with the first access point and a throughput rate for
scheduling communications with the second access point, and wherein
the at least one processor is configured to schedule communications
with the second access point by determining the resources for
scheduling communications with the second access point based at
least in part on applying the ratio to the throughput rate in
communicating with the first access point.
23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more parameters
include a ratio of buffered data to communicate with the second
access point, and wherein the at least one processor is configured
to apply the ratio to an amount of data in a buffer for
communicating in the first wireless network.
24. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor
is further configured to transmit, to the first access point, a
request for communicating using an amount of resources with the
second access point, wherein the one or more parameters include a
response to the request.
25. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more parameters
correspond to communicating with the second access point over one
or more component carriers, one or more logical channels, or one or
more logical channel groups.
26. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor
is further configured to transmit feedback information regarding
communicating with the second access point to the first access
point, wherein the one or more parameters are based at least in
part on the feedback information.
27. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor
is configured to receive one or more validation parameters
specifying at least one of a start time, a stop time, a duration,
or an interval for using the one or more parameters in configuring
communications with the second access point.
28. An apparatus for scheduling communications in wireless networks
using traffic aggregation, comprising: means for communicating with
a first access point using a first RAT over a first connection to
access a first wireless network, and communicating with a second
access point using a second RAT over a second connection to access
a second wireless network, wherein the second connection is
configured by the first access point to implement traffic
aggregation with the first connection, and wherein the second RAT
supports opportunistic communication; means for receiving, via the
means for communicating and from the first access point after the
traffic aggregation is configured, one or more parameters related
to determining resources for scheduling communications for
communicating, via the means for communicating, with the second
access point over the second connection, wherein the one or more
parameters are related to scheduling the communications over the
second connection and based on the second RAT; and means for
scheduling, via the means for communicating and by determining the
resources based at least in part on the one or more parameters,
communications with the second access point, in the traffic
aggregation with the first access point.
29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the one or more parameters
include a maximum packet size or a packet size for communicating
with the second access point.
30. An non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising
computer-executable code for scheduling communications in wireless
networks using traffic aggregation, the code comprising: code for
causing at least one computer to communicate, by a user equipment
(UE), with a first access point using a first RAT over a first
connection to access a first wireless network, and to communicate,
by the UE, with a second access point using a second RAT over a
second connection to access a second wireless network, wherein the
second connection is configured by the first access point to
implement traffic aggregation with the first connection, and
wherein the second RAT supports opportunistic communication; code
for causing the at least one computer to receive, by the UE and
from the first access point after the traffic aggregation is
configured, one or more parameters related to determining resources
for scheduling, by the UE, communications with the second access
point over the second connection, wherein the one or more
parameters are related to scheduling the communications over the
second connection and based on the second RAT; and code for causing
the at least one computer to schedule, by the UE determining the
resources based at least in part on the one or more parameters,
communications with the second access point, in the traffic
aggregation with the first access point.
Description
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure, for example, relates to wireless
communications, and more particularly to techniques for scheduling
communications in wireless networks with traffic aggregation.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide
various communication services such as voice, video, packet data,
messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be
multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by
sharing the available network resources. Examples of such
multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks,
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA
(OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.
A wireless communication network may include a number of base
stations (e.g., eNodeBs) that can support communication for a
number of user equipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base
station via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link)
refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE,
and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link
from the UE to the base station.
Additionally, UEs can be equipped to communicate in wireless local
area networks (WLAN) by accessing one or more hotspots using a
wireless communication technology, such as Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (WiFi). In this regard, a
UE can communicate with a radio access network (RAN) of a wireless
wide area network (WWAN) (e.g., a cellular network) along with a
RAN of one or more WLANs. The UE can include a transceiver operable
for communicating with the RAN of the WWAN (e.g., a long term
evolution (LTE), universal telecommunications mobile system (UMTS),
or similar transceiver) and another transceiver operable for
communicating with the RAN of the WLAN (e.g., a WiFi transceiver).
The UE may additionally or alternatively include a single
transceiver operable for communicating with both RANs (e.g., WWAN
and WLAN). In either case, the UE can aggregate communications over
WWAN and WLAN connections at the RAN layer (e.g., at a media access
control (MAC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) or similar
layers, also known as "RAN aggregation") to provide simultaneous
access to one or more network nodes, to offload traffic from the
WWAN to WLAN or vice versa, and/or the like.
In current implementations of RAN aggregation, an anchor node
(e.g., an evolved Node B (eNB) at the WWAN) schedules downlink
communications over the WWAN and WLAN connections for a given UE.
For uplink communications, however, transmissions over the WLAN are
typically not scheduled and occur opportunistically by the UE. This
can impact synchronization in the WWAN that implements RAN
aggregation over a WLAN connection (e.g., where packets are
received out-of-order over the WLAN connection or otherwise not
received within an expected receive window due to delay in
transmission, or preemptive transmission, of packets over the WLAN
connection).
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless
communications, and more particularly to techniques for scheduling
communications in wireless networks with traffic aggregation. For
example, techniques for scheduling communications between wireless
devices and access points in radio access network (RAN) aggregation
over wireless local area network (WLAN) connections are described
herein.
In accordance with an aspect, a wireless device (e.g., user
equipment (UE)) may communicate with access points in multiple RANs
using different radio access technologies (RAT) and/or network
architectures. For example, the wireless device may communicate
with an evolved Node B or other component of a RAN for a wireless
wide area network (WWAN) or cellular network, an access point or
similar component of a RAN for a WLAN, and/or the like, to access
one or more networks. In an example, the UE may implement traffic
aggregation (e.g., RAN aggregation) for accessing a first network
(e.g., WWAN) by using a first RAT with a first access point and a
second network (e.g., WLAN) by using a second RAT with a second
access point, where the second access point communicates with the
first access point to provide traffic aggregation for the UE to the
first network. The first and second access points may be a part of
or different RANs. This configuration allows for improved
connectivity with the first network and/or the second network.
Communications by a UE with the second access point of the second
network can be scheduled based at least in part on one or more
parameters communicated by a first access point of the first
network.
In an example, a method for scheduling communications in wireless
networks using traffic aggregation is provided. The method includes
communicating with a first access point using a first RAT to access
a first wireless network, communicating with a second access point
using a second RAT to access a second wireless network, receiving,
from the first access point, one or more parameters for scheduling
communications with the second access point, and configuring
communications with the second access point based at least in part
on the one or more parameters. The method may also include wherein
the one or more parameters include a maximum packet size for
communicating with the second access point. The method may further
include wherein the one or more parameters include a packet size
for communicating with the second access point. Moreover, the
method may include transmitting a buffer status report to the first
access point, wherein the one or more parameters indicate a
differential between the buffer status report and a resource grant
received for communicating with the first access point be used in
configuring communications with the second access point. The method
may also include wherein the one or more parameters include a
target or maximum throughput for communicating with the second
access point for a duration. Also, the method may include wherein
the one or more parameters include one or more additional
parameters for calculating resources for achieving the target or
maximum throughput, wherein configuring communications with the
second access point is based at least in part on the resources.
The method may also include wherein the one or more parameters
include a ratio between resources of a resource grant received for
communicating with the first access point and resources for
scheduling communications with the second access point, and wherein
configuring communications with the second access point is based at
least in part on applying the ratio to resources of the resource
grant. Further, the method may include wherein the one or more
parameters include a ratio between a determined throughput rate in
communicating with the first access point and a throughput rate for
scheduling communications with the second access point, and wherein
configuring communications with the second access point is based at
least in part on applying the ratio to throughput rate in
communicating with the first access point. The method may also
include wherein the one or more parameters include a ratio of
buffered data to communicate with the second access point, and
wherein configuring communications with the second access point
comprises applying the ratio to an amount of data in a buffer for
communicating in the first wireless network. Further, the method
may include transmitting, to the first access point, a request for
communicating using an amount of resources with the second access
point, wherein the one or more parameters include a response to the
request. The method may also include wherein the one or more
parameters correspond to communicating with the second access point
over one or more component carriers, one or more logical channels,
or one or more logical channel groups. The method may also include
wherein the first RAT is a wireless wide area network technology
and the second RAT is a wireless local area network technology.
The method may additionally include transmitting feedback
information regarding communicating with the second access point to
the first access point, wherein the one or more parameters are
based at least in part on the feedback information. The method may
also include wherein the feedback information includes at least one
of channel conditions with the second access point, a modulation
and coding scheme, a data rate, or a measure of channel
interference. Further, the method may include wherein receiving the
one or more parameters comprises receiving one or more validation
parameters specifying at least one of a start time, a stop time, a
duration, or an interval for using the one or more parameters in
configuring communications with the second access point.
Additionally, the method may include wherein communicating with a
second access point comprises accessing the first wireless network
via the second wireless network to implement traffic
aggregation.
In another example, an apparatus for scheduling communications in
wireless networks using traffic aggregation is provided. The
apparatus includes a communicating component configured to
communicate with a first access point using a first RAT over a
first connection to access a first wireless network, and to
communicate with a second access point using a second RAT over a
second connection, wherein the second connection is configured by
the first access point to implement traffic aggregation with the
first connection, a scheduling parameter receiving component
configured to receive, from the first access point, one or more
parameters for scheduling communications with the second access
point, and a communication scheduling component configured to
schedule communications with the second access point based at least
in part on the one or more parameters.
The apparatus may further include wherein the one or more
parameters include a maximum packet size or a packet size for
communicating with the second access point. Also, the apparatus may
include wherein the communicating component is further configured
to transmit a buffer status report to the first access point,
wherein the one or more parameters indicate a differential between
the buffer status report and a resource grant received for
communicating with the first access point be used in configuring
communications with the second access point. The apparatus may also
include wherein the one or more parameters include a target or
maximum throughput for communicating with the second access point
for a duration. In addition, the apparatus may include wherein the
one or more parameters include a ratio between resources of a
resource grant received for communicating with the first access
point and resources for scheduling communications with the second
access point, and wherein the communication scheduling component is
configured to configure communications with the second access point
based at least in part on applying the ratio to resources of the
resource grant. The apparatus may also include wherein the one or
more parameters include a ratio between a determined throughput
rate in communicating with the first access point and a throughput
rate for scheduling communications with the second access point,
and wherein the communication scheduling component is configured to
configure communications with the second access point based at
least in part on applying the ratio to throughput rate in
communicating with the first access point.
The apparatus may additionally include wherein the one or more
parameters include a ratio of buffered data to communicate with the
second access point, and wherein the communication scheduling
component is configured to apply the ratio to an amount of data in
a buffer for communicating in the first wireless network. Further,
the apparatus may include a scheduling parameter requesting
component configured to transmit, to the first access point, a
request for communicating using an amount of resources with the
second access point, wherein the one or more parameters include a
response to the request. The apparatus may also include wherein the
one or more parameters correspond to communicating with the second
access point over one or more component carriers, one or more
logical channels, or one or more logical channel groups. Moreover,
the apparatus may include wherein the communicating component is
further configured to transmit feedback information regarding
communicating with the second access point to the first access
point, wherein the one or more parameters are based at least in
part on the feedback information. The apparatus may also include
wherein the communicating component is configured to receive one or
more validation parameters specifying at least one of a start time,
a stop time, a duration, or an interval for using the one or more
parameters in configuring communications with the second access
point.
In yet another example, an apparatus for scheduling communications
in wireless networks using traffic aggregation is provided. The
apparatus may include means for communicating with a first access
point using a first RAT over a first connection to access a first
wireless network, and communicating with a second access point
using a second RAT over a second connection, wherein the second
connection is configured by the first access point to implement
traffic aggregation with the first connection, means for receiving,
from the first access point, one or more parameters for scheduling
communications with the second access point, and means for
scheduling communications with the second access point based at
least in part on the one or more parameters. The apparatus may also
include wherein the one or more parameters include a maximum packet
size or a packet size for communicating with the second access
point.
Still in another example a computer-readable storage medium
comprising computer-executable code for scheduling communications
in wireless networks using traffic aggregation is provided. The
code includes code for causing at least one computer to communicate
with a first access point using a first RAT over a first connection
to access a first wireless network, and to communicate with a
second access point using a second RAT over a second connection,
wherein the second connection is configured by the first access
point to implement traffic aggregation with the first connection,
code for causing the at least one computer to receive, from the
first access point, one or more parameters for scheduling
communications with the second access point, and code for causing
the at least one computer to schedule communications with the
second access point based at least in part on the one or more
parameters
Various aspects and features of the disclosure are described in
further detail below with reference to various examples thereof as
shown in the accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure is
described below with reference to various examples, it should be
understood that the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
Those of ordinary skill in the art having access to the teachings
herein will recognize additional implementations, modifications,
and examples, as well as other fields of use, which are within the
scope of the present disclosure as described herein, and with
respect to which the present disclosure may be of significant
utility.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present
disclosure, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in
which like elements are referenced with like numerals. These
drawings should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure
described herein, but are intended to be illustrative only.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a
wireless communications system, in accordance with various aspects
of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating examples of an
eNodeB and a UE configured in accordance with various aspects of
the present disclosure.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an aggregation
of radio access technologies at a UE, in accordance with various
aspects of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of
data paths between a UE and a PDN in accordance with various
aspects of the present disclosure.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a
UE and eNodeB, along with respective components configured in
accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for scheduling
communications in accordance with various aspects of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for scheduling
communications in accordance with various aspects of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example
hardware implementation for an apparatus employing a processing
system configured in accordance with various aspects of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the
appended drawings, is intended as a description of various
configurations and is not intended to represent the only
configurations in which the concepts described herein may be
practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for
the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various
concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art
that these concepts may be practiced without these specific
details. In some instances, well-known structures and components
are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such
concepts.
Various techniques for scheduling communications in wireless
networks with traffic aggregation may are described. For example, a
wireless device (e.g., user equipment (UE)) can communicate with a
first access point using a first RAT to access a first wireless
network, and can communicate with a second access point using a
second RAT to access a second wireless network. The second access
point of the second network may be configured to provide traffic
aggregation to the first network via the first access point.
Traffic aggregation, as described herein, can include utilizing one
or more connections with the first access point and one or more
connections with the second access point to access a single
wireless network. In one example of traffic aggregation, the second
access point can forward or otherwise communicate data received
from the UE to the first access point or otherwise to the first
wireless network related to the first access point, such that the
first wireless network receives aggregated communications from the
first access point and the second access point. Thus, the UE can
utilize two connections and possibly two transceivers to
communicate data to the first wireless network (e.g., over
respective connections with the first and second access points) to
increase bandwidth utilized for communication, to provide transmit
diversity using the two transceivers, etc. Similarly, in an example
of traffic aggregation, the second access point can forward or
otherwise communicate data received from the first access point or
otherwise from the first network to the UE, such that the UE
receives aggregated communications from the first wireless network
via the first and second access points.
For example, traffic aggregation can also be referred to as "RAN
aggregation" such that the second access point, which may be a part
of a different radio access network (RAN) than the first access
point, can enable communication between the first network and a
wireless device along with the first access point at the RAN layer.
In this regard, the wireless device can connect to the first access
point and the second access point, using the first and second RATs
respectively, at the RAN provided by the first access point and
second access point, but can do so to access the first wireless
network. In this regard, the wireless device can be provisioned
with parameters by a first access point for managing the
communications via the second access point using the second RAT to
achieve traffic aggregation. In some examples, RAN aggregation can
be provided at a radio link control (RLC) layer or at a packet data
convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. In addition, the first and
second access point may be collocated or not collocated.
For example, one or more parameters for scheduling communications
with the second access point can be communicated to the UE by the
first access point. For instance, the first access point may
communicate a scheduling grant to the UE for communicating with the
first access point and one or more additional parameters for
communicating with the second access point in RAN aggregation. For
example, the one or more additional parameters can include at least
one of a maximum packet size for communicating with the second
access point, a specific packet size for communicating with the
second access point, a differential of data packet size between a
buffer status report communicated by the UE and a received grant
for communicating with the first access point, a target or maximum
throughput for communicating with the second access point for a
specific duration, a ratio between resources of a grant for
communicating with the first access point and resources for
scheduling communications with the second access point, a ratio
between a throughput rate in communicating with the first access
point and a throughput rate for scheduling communications with the
second access point, a ratio of buffered data to communicate with
the second access point, a response to a UE request for
communicating an amount of data with the second access point, etc.,
as described further herein. In addition, for example,
communications can be scheduled with the second access point based
at least in part on a type of the communications, one or more
component carriers for the communications, one or more channels
related to the communications, etc., and the first access point may
specify parameters specifically for a type of communications,
component carriers used for the communications, channels used for
the communications, etc.
The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless
communication networks such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and
other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are often used
interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology
such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc.
UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA.
cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network
may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a radio
technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband
(UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20,
Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of UMTS. 3GPP LTE and
LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA.
UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in documents
from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project"
(3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an
organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2).
The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless
networks and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other
wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, certain
aspects of the techniques are described below for LTE, and LTE
terminology is used in much of the description below.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a
wireless communications system 100, in accordance with an aspect of
the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100
includes base stations (or cells) 105, user equipment (UEs) 115,
and a core network 130. One or more base stations 105 may include a
communicating component 520, as described herein, for scheduling
communications for one or more UEs 115 to communicate with base
station 105 and/or with another access point (e.g., base station
105-b) using traffic aggregation. One or more UEs 115 may include a
communicating component 540 for receiving one or more parameters
from one or more base stations 105 to communicate with the one or
more base stations 105 and one or more other base stations (e.g.,
base station 105-b) using traffic aggregation, as described further
herein. The base stations 105 may communicate with the UEs 115
under the control of a base station controller (not shown), which
may be part of the core network 130 or the base stations 105 in
various embodiments. The base stations 105 may communicate control
information and/or user data with the core network 130 through
first backhaul links 132. In embodiments, the base stations 105 may
communicate, either directly or indirectly, with each other over
second backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless
communication links. The wireless communications system 100 may
support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of
different frequencies). Multi-carrier transmitters can transmit
modulated signals simultaneously on the multiple carriers. For
example, each communication link 125 may be a multi-carrier signal
modulated according to the various radio technologies described
above. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and
may carry control information (e.g., reference signals, control
channels, etc.), overhead information, data, etc. The wireless
communications system 100 may also support operation on multiple
flows at the same time. In some aspects, the multiple flows may
correspond to multiple wireless wide area networks (WWANs) or
cellular flows. In other aspects, the multiple flows may correspond
to a combination of WWANs or cellular flows and wireless local area
networks (WLANs) or Wi-Fi flows.
The base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 115
via one or more base station antennas. Each of the base stations
105 sites may provide communication coverage for a respective
geographic coverage area 110. In some embodiments, base stations
105 may be referred to as a base transceiver station, a radio base
station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a basic service set
(BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a NodeB, eNodeB, Home NodeB,
a Home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. The geographic
coverage area 110 for a base station 105 may be divided into
sectors making up only a portion of the coverage area (not shown).
The wireless communications system 100 may include base stations
105 of different types (e.g., macro, micro, and/or pico base
stations). There may be overlapping coverage areas for different
technologies. In general, base stations 105-a may be base stations
corresponding to a WWAN (e.g., LTE or UMTS macro cell, pico cell,
femto cell, etc. base stations), and base stations 105-b may be
base stations corresponding to a WLAN (e.g., Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (WiFi) hotspot).
It is to be appreciated, however, that a single base station 105
can support communications over multiple RATs (e.g., LTE and WiFi,
LTE and UMTS, UMTS and WiFi, etc.).
In implementations, the wireless communications system 100 is an
LTE/LTE-A network communication system. In LTE/LTE-A network
communication systems, the terms evolved Node B (eNodeB) may be
generally used to describe the base stations 105. The wireless
communications system 100 may be a Heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A network
in which different types of eNodeBs provide coverage for various
geographical regions. For example, each eNodeB 105 may provide
communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell,
and/or other types of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively
large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may
allow unrestricted access by UEs 115 with service subscriptions
with the network provider. A pico cell may cover a relatively
smaller geographic area (e.g., buildings) and may allow
unrestricted access by UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the
network provider. A femto cell may also cover a relatively small
geographic area (e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted
access, may also provide restricted access by UEs 115 having an
association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs 115 in a closed
subscriber group (CSG), UEs 115 for users in the home, and the
like). An eNodeB 105 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro
eNodeB. An eNodeB 105 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico
eNodeB. And, an eNodeB 105 for a femto cell may be referred to as a
femto eNodeB or a home eNodeB. An eNodeB 105 may support one or
multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells. The wireless
communications system 100 may support use of LTE and WLAN or Wi-Fi
by one or more of the UEs 115.
The core network 130 may communicate with the eNodeBs 105 or other
base stations 105 via first backhaul links 132 (e.g., S1 interface,
etc.). The eNodeBs 105 may also communicate with one another, e.g.,
directly or indirectly via second backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2
interface, etc.) and/or via the first backhaul links 132 (e.g.,
through core network 130). The wireless communications system 100
may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous
operation, the eNodeBs 105 may have similar frame timing, and
transmissions from different eNodeBs 105 may be approximately
aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the eNodeBs 105 may
have different frame timing, and transmissions from different
eNodeBs 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described
herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous
operations.
The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communications
system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115
may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile
station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a
wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a
wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile
subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a
wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a
mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. A UE
115 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a
wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device,
a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless
local loop (WLL) station, or the like. A UE 115 may be able to
communicate with macro eNodeBs, pico eNodeBs, femto eNodeBs,
relays, and the like.
The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communications
system 100 may include uplink (UL) transmissions from a UE 115 to
an eNodeB 105, and/or downlink (DL) transmissions, from an eNodeB
105 to a UE 115. The downlink transmissions may also be called
forward link transmissions while the uplink transmissions may also
be called reverse link transmissions.
In certain aspects of the wireless communications system 100, a UE
115 may be configured to support carrier aggregation (CA) with two
or more eNodeBs 105. The eNodeBs 105 that are used for carrier
aggregation may be collocated or may be connected through fast
connections. In either case, coordinating the aggregation of
component carriers (CCs) for wireless communications between the UE
115 and the eNodeBs 105 may be carried out more easily because
information can be readily shared between the various cells being
used to perform the carrier aggregation. When the eNodeBs 105 that
are used for carrier aggregation are non-collocated (e.g., far
apart or do not have a high-speed connection between them), then
coordinating the aggregation of component carriers may involve
additional aspects.
In addition, for example, some base stations 105 can support
traffic aggregation such that base stations using different RATs
can communicate to aggregate traffic from both base stations (e.g.,
for a given UE 115). For example, UE 115-a can communicate with
base station 105-a and base station 105-b, and base station 105-b
can communicate with base station 105-a (e.g., over a wired or
wireless backhaul link 134) to aggregate traffic from UE 115-a to
the base station 105-a for communicating to a related WWAN. Thus,
in one example, UE 115-a may support LTE and WiFi communications
using one or more transceivers. In this regard, for example,
traffic aggregation can be established for the UE 115-a such that
UE 115-a communicates data for a first wireless network to base
station 105-a and base station 105-b, which operate different RANs,
using respective RATs. Base station 105-b can provide the data to
base station 105-a for communicating in the related first wireless
network. This configuration allows for increased throughput or
other improved connectivity properties for the UE 115-a.
In addition, communications between a UE 115-a and a base station
105-a can be scheduled, and aspects described herein provide for
also scheduling communications between UE 115-a and base station
105-b, though the RAT of 105-b may be a WLAN RAT or another RAT
that does not require scheduling or otherwise supports
opportunistic communication by the UE 115-a. Scheduling of
communications between the UE 115-a and base station 105-b by the
base station 105-a, as described in detail herein, can allow base
station 105-a to control communications from the UE 115-a to both
of base stations 105-a and 105-b. This can facilitate managing an
amount of access provided to the UE 115-a by base station 105-b,
which can assist in receiving and decoding data received from a UE
115 over multiple communication links 125 from multiple base
stations 105.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating examples of an
eNodeB 210 and a UE 250 configured in accordance with an aspect of
the present disclosure. For example, the base station/eNodeB 210
and the UE 250 of a system 200, as shown in FIG. 2, may be one of
the base stations/eNodeBs and one of the UEs in FIG. 1,
respectively. Thus, for example, base station 210 may include a
communicating component 520, as described herein, for scheduling
communications for one or more UEs 250 to communicate with the base
station 210 and/or with another access point using traffic
aggregation. UE 250 may include a communicating component 540 for
receiving one or more parameters from one or more base stations 210
to communicate with the one or more base stations 210 and one or
more other base stations using traffic aggregation, as described
further herein. In some aspects, the eNodeB 210 may support traffic
aggregation, as described herein. In some aspects, the UE 250 may
also support traffic aggregation. The UE 250 may receive
configuration information for traffic aggregation from eNodeB 210
or other network entities. The base station 210 may be equipped
with antennas 234.sub.1-t, and the UE 250 may be equipped with
antennas 252.sub.1-r, wherein t and r are integers greater than or
equal to one.
At the base station 210, a base station transmit processor 220 may
receive data from a base station data source 212 and control
information from a base station controller/processor 240. The
control information may be carried on the PBCH, PCFICH, physical
hybrid automatic repeat/request (HARQ) indicator channel (PHICH),
PDCCH, etc. The data may be carried on the PDSCH, etc. The base
station transmit processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol
map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and
control symbols, respectively. The base station transmit processor
220 may also generate reference symbols, e.g., for the PSS, SSS,
and cell-specific reference signal (RS). A base station transmit
(TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may
perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols,
the control symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable,
and may provide output symbol streams to the base station
modulators/demodulators (MODs/DEMODs) 232.sub.1-t. Each base
station modulator/demodulator 232 may process a respective output
symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample
stream. Each base station modulator/demodulator 232 may further
process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert)
the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink
signals from modulators/demodulators 232.sub.1-t may be transmitted
via the antennas 234.sub.1-t, respectively.
At the UE 250, the UE antennas 252.sub.1-rmay receive the downlink
signals from the base station 210 and may provide received signals
to the UE modulators/demodulators (MODs/DEMODs) 254.sub.1-r,
respectively. Each UE modulator/demodulator 254 may condition
(e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective
received signal to obtain input samples. Each UE
modulator/demodulator 254 may further process the input samples
(e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A UE MIMO
detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all the UE
modulators/demodulators 254.sub.1-r, and perform MIMO detection on
the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A
UE reception processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate,
deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded
data for the UE 250 to a UE data sink 260, and provide decoded
control information to a UE controller/processor 280.
On the uplink, at the UE 250, a UE transmit processor 264 may
receive and process data (e.g., for the PUSCH) from a UE data
source 262 and control information (e.g., for the PUCCH) from the
UE controller/processor 280. The UE transmit processor 264 may also
generate reference symbols for a reference signal. The symbols from
the UE transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a UE TX MIMO
processor 266 if applicable, further processed by the UE
modulator/demodulators 254.sub.1-r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and
transmitted to the base station 210. At the base station 210, the
uplink signals from the UE 250 may be received by the base station
antennas 234, processed by the base station modulators/demodulators
232, detected by a base station MIMO detector 236 if applicable,
and further processed by a base station reception processor 238 to
obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE 250. The
base station reception processor 238 may provide the decoded data
to a base station data sink 246 and the decoded control information
to the base station controller/processor 240.
The base station controller/processor 240 and the UE
controller/processor 280 may direct the operation at the base
station 210 and the UE 250, respectively. The UE
controller/processor 280 and/or other processors and modules at the
UE 250 may also perform or direct, e.g., the execution of the
functional blocks illustrated in FIG. 5, and/or other processes for
the techniques described herein (e.g., flowcharts illustrated in
FIG. 6 and FIG. 7). In some aspects, at least a portion of the
execution of these functional blocks and/or processes may be
performed by block 281 in the UE controller/processor 280. The base
station memory 242 and the UE memory 282 may store data and program
codes for the base station 210 and the UE 250, respectively. For
example, the UE memory 282 may store configuration information for
multiple connectivity wireless communication provided by the base
station 210 and/or another base station. A scheduler 244 may be
used to schedule UE 250 for data transmission on the downlink
and/or uplink.
In one configuration, the UE 250 may include means for
communicating with a first access point using a first RAT over a
first connection to access a first wireless network. The UE 250 may
also include means for communicating with a second access point
using a second RAT over a second connection, wherein the second
connection is configured by the first access point to implement
traffic aggregation with the first connection. The UE 250 may
further include means for receiving, from the first access point,
one or more parameters for scheduling communications with the
second access point. The UE 250 can also include means for
communicating with the second access point based at least in part
on the one or more parameters. In one aspect, the aforementioned
means may be the UE controller/processor 280, the UE memory 282,
the UE reception processor 258, the UE MIMO detector 256, the UE
modulators/demodulators 254, and/or the UE antennas 252 configured
to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. In
another aspect, the aforementioned means may be a module,
component, or any apparatus configured to perform the functions
recited by the aforementioned means. Examples of such modules,
components, or apparatus may be described with respect to FIG.
5.
In one configuration, the base station 210 may include means for
communicating with a user equipment (UE) using a first RAT. The
base station 210 may also include means for communicating with the
UE using traffic aggregation via another access point that uses a
second RAT. The base station 210 can further include means for
transmitting a scheduling grant to the UE for communicating using
the first RAT. Additionally, the base station 210 may include means
for transmitting one or more parameters to the UE for scheduling
communications using the second RAT. In one aspect, the
aforementioned means may be the base station controller/processor
240, the base station memory 242, the base station reception
processor 238, the base station MIMO detector 236, the base station
modulators/demodulators 232, and/or the base station antennas 234
configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned
means. In another aspect, the aforementioned means may be a module,
component, or any apparatus configured to perform the functions
recited by the aforementioned means. Examples of such modules,
components, or apparatus may be described with respect to FIG.
5.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an aggregation
of radio access technologies at a UE, in accordance with aspects
described herein. The aggregation may occur in a system 300
including a multi-mode UE 315, which can communicate with an eNodeB
305 using one or more component carriers 1 through N
(CC.sub.1-CC.sub.N), and/or with a WLAN access point (AP) 306 using
WLAN carrier 340. A multi-mode UE in this example may refer to a UE
that supports more than one radio access technology (RAT). eNodeB
305 may include a communicating component 520, as described herein,
for scheduling communications for one or more UEs 315 to
communicate with eNodeB 305 and/or with another access point (e.g.,
AP 306) using traffic aggregation. UE 315 may include a
communicating component 540 for receiving one or more parameters
from one or more eNodeBs 305 to communicate with the one or more
eNodeBs 305 and one or more other eNodeBs (e.g., AP 306) using
traffic aggregation, as described further herein. For example, the
UE 315 supports at least a WWAN radio access technology (e.g., LTE)
and a WLAN radio access technology (e.g., Wi-Fi). A multi-mode UE
may also support carrier aggregation using one or more of the RATs.
The UE 315 may be an example of one of the UEs of FIG. 1, FIG. 2,
FIG. 4, FIG. 5. The eNodeB 305 may be an example of one of the
eNodeBs or eNodeBs of FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 5. While only
one UE 315, one eNodeB 305, and one AP 306 are illustrated in FIG.
3, it will be appreciated that the system 300 can include any
number of UEs 315, eNodeBs 305, and/or APs 306. In one specific
example, UE 315 can communicate with one eNodeB 305 over one LTE
component carrier 330 while communicating with another eNodeB 305
over another component carrier 330.
The eNodeB 305 can transmit information to the UE 315 over forward
(downlink) channels 332-1 through 332-N on LTE component carriers
CC.sub.1 through CC.sub.N 330. In addition, the UE 315 can transmit
information to the eNodeB 305 over reverse (uplink) channels 334-1
through 334-N on LTE component carriers CC.sub.1 through CC.sub.N.
Similarly, the AP 306 may transmit information to the UE 315 over
forward (downlink) channel 352 on WLAN carrier 340. In addition,
the UE 315 may transmit information to the AP 306 over reverse
(uplink) channel 354 of WLAN carrier 340.
In describing the various entities of FIG. 3, as well as other
figures associated with some of the disclosed embodiments, for the
purposes of explanation, the nomenclature associated with a 3GPP
LTE or LTE-A wireless network is used. However, it is to be
appreciated that the system 300 can operate in other networks such
as, but not limited to, an OFDMA wireless network, a CDMA network,
a 3GPP2 CDMA2000 network and the like.
In multi-carrier operations, the downlink control information (DCI)
messages associated with different UEs 315 can be carried on
multiple component carriers. For example, the DCI on a PDCCH can be
included on the same component carrier that is configured to be
used by a UE 315 for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)
transmissions (i.e., same-carrier signaling). Alternatively, or
additionally, the DCI may be carried on a component carrier
different from the target component carrier used for PDSCH
transmissions (i.e., cross-carrier signaling). In some
implementations, a carrier indicator field (CIF), which may be
semi-statically enabled, may be included in some or all DCI formats
to facilitate the transmission of PDCCH control signaling from a
carrier other than the target carrier for PDSCH transmissions
(cross-carrier signaling).
In the present example, the UE 315 may receive data from one eNodeB
305. However, users on a cell edge may experience high inter-cell
interference which may limit the data rates. Multiflow allows UEs
to receive data from two eNodeBs 305 simultaneously. In some
aspects, the two eNodeBs 305 may be non-collocated and may be
configured to support carrier aggregation. Multiflow works by
sending and receiving data from the two eNodeBs 305 in two totally
separate streams when a UE is in range of two cell towers in two
adjacent cells at the same time. The UE talks to two eNodeB 305
simultaneously when the device is on the edge of either eNodeBs'
reach. By scheduling two independent data streams to the mobile
device from two different eNodeBs at the same time, multiflow
exploits uneven loading in HSPA networks. This helps improve the
cell edge user experience while increasing network capacity. In one
example, throughput data speeds for users at a cell edge may
double. In some aspects, multiflow may also refer to the ability of
a UE to talk to a WWAN tower (e.g., cellular tower) and a WLAN
tower (e.g., AP) simultaneously when the UE is within the reach of
both towers. In such cases, the towers may be configured to support
carrier aggregation through multiple connections when the towers
are not collocated.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of
data paths 445-a and 445-b between the UE 415 and the EPC 480 in
accordance with an aspect of the aspects described herein. The data
paths 445-a, 445-b are shown within the context of a wireless
communications system 401 for aggregating traffic for transmitting
using resources of eNodeBs 405 and WLAN AP 406. This bearer
configuration includes data path 445-a that traverses eNodeB 405,
and a data path 445-b that traverses WLAN AP 406 and eNodeB 405 in
RAN aggregation. The system 200 of FIG. 2 may be an example of
portions of the wireless communications system 401. The wireless
communications system 401 may include a UE 415, eNodeB 405, WLAN AP
406, an evolved packet core (EPC) 480, a PDN 440, and a peer entity
455. The UE 415 may be configured to support traffic aggregation,
as described herein, though the traffic aggregation can be
controlled by eNodeB 405 and may be agnostic to upper layers of the
UE 415. eNodeB 405 may include a communicating component 520, as
described herein, for scheduling communications for one or more UEs
415 to communicate with eNodeB 405 and/or with another access point
(e.g., WLAN AP 406) using traffic aggregation. One or more UEs 415
may include a communicating component 540 for receiving one or more
parameters from one or more eNodeBs 405 to communicate with the one
or more eNodeBs 405 and one or more other base stations (e.g., WLAN
AP 406) using traffic aggregation, as described further herein.
The EPC 480 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 430, a
serving gateway (SGW) 432, and a PDN gateway (PGW) 434. A home
subscriber system (HSS) 435 may be communicatively coupled with the
MME 430. The UE 415 may include an LTE radio 420 and a WLAN radio
425. It is to be appreciated that the UE 415 can include one or
more such radios and/or the radios may be integrated. Thus, in an
example, LTE radio 420 can also include a WLAN radio (or can be
configured to process WLAN signals) in addition to the WLAN radio
425, and in this example, UE 415 includes two WLAN interfaces--one
in the LTE radio 420 and one in the WLAN radio 425. These elements
may represent aspects of one or more of their counterparts
described above with reference to the previous or subsequent
Figures. For example, the UE 415 may be an example of UEs in FIG.
1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 5, the eNodeB 405-a may be an example of
the eNodeBs/base stations of FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 5, WLAN
AP 406 may be an example of the APs described in FIG. 1, FIG. 3,
FIG. 5, and/or the EPC 480 may be an example of the core network of
FIG. 1.
Referring back to FIG. 4, the eNodeB 405-a may be capable of
providing the UE 415 with access to the PDN 440, which may relate
to one or more LTE component carriers, as described. WLAN AP 406
may be capable of providing the UE 415 with access to the PDN 440
by traversing the eNodeB 405. Thus, eNodeB 405 and WLAN AP 406 can
communicate to aggregate traffic from UE 415. Accordingly, the UE
415 may involve traffic aggregation where one connection is to a
first access point (eNodeB 405) and the other connection is to a
second access point (WLAN AP 406), where the second access point
communicates with the first access point to aggregate traffic for
the UE 415. Using this configuration, bearers established for the
UE 415 with EPC 480 can be with the eNodeB 405 and/or the WLAN AP
406. In one example, bearer selection can be configured where the
UE 415 has separate bearers established between the EPC 408 and the
eNodeB 405 and between the EPC 480 and the WLAN AP 406 (via eNodeB
405). In this example, data traffic (e.g., IP packets) is sent over
respective bearers, which can map to carriers between the UE 415
and eNodeB 405/WLAN AP 406. In another example, RLC/PDCP level
aggregation can be configured where the UE 415 bearers are between
the eNodeB 405 EPC 480 even for the WLAN AP 406 carriers. In this
example, data traffic (e.g., IP packets) is aggregated at the
RLC/PDCP level and communicated to UE 415 or respective carriers
with the eNodeB 405 and WLAN AP 406. In addition, for example,
eNodeB 405 and WLAN AP 406 may communicate over a backhaul link 434
to coordinate providing communication resources to the UE 415,
receiving communications from the UE 415, etc.
While aspects of FIG. 4 have been described with respect to LTE,
similar aspects regarding aggregation and/or multiple connections
may also be implemented with respect to UMTS or other similar
system or network wireless communications radio technologies.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram 500 conceptually illustrating an example
of a UE 515 and components configured in accordance with an aspect
of the present disclosure. FIGS. 6 and 7, which are described in
conjunction with FIG. 5 herein, illustrate example methods 600 and
700 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Although
the operations described below in FIGS. 6 and 7 are presented in a
particular order and/or as being performed by an example component,
it should be understood that the ordering of the actions and the
components performing the actions may be varied, depending on the
implementation. Moreover, it should be understood that the
following actions or functions may be performed by a
specially-programmed processor, a processor executing
specially-programmed software or computer-readable media, or by any
other combination of a hardware component and/or a software
component capable of performing the described actions or
functions.
Referring to FIG. 5, an eNodeB 505, a WLAN AP 506, and the UE 515
of block diagram 500 may be one of the base stations/eNodeBs, APs,
and/or UEs as described in various Figures herein. The eNodeB 505
and the UE 515 may communicate over first communication link 525.
The WLAN AP 506 and the UE 515 may communicate over second
communication link 526. Each of the communication links 525, 526
may be an example of the communication links 125 of FIG. 1. In
addition, for example, eNodeB 505 can communicate with WLAN AP 506
over a backhaul link 534, which may be a link directly between the
eNodeB 505 and WLAN AP 506, a link that traverses one or more
network nodes of a core network related to eNodeB 505 and/or a
network of WLAN AP 506, etc. eNodeB 505 can communicate with WLAN
AP 506, for example, to configure and provide traffic aggregation
(e.g., RAN aggregation) for the UE 515, such that traffic can be
communicated between UE 515 and a network related to eNodeB 505 by
using both radio access via the eNodeB 505 and radio access via
WLAN AP 506 (e.g., where the WLAN AP 506 may receive data from the
eNodeB 505 for communicating to the UE 515 and/or may receive data
from the UE 515 for communicating to the network related to eNodeB
505).
For example, the eNodeB 505 can include a communicating component
520 for communicating with a UE 515 over first communication link
525 and using traffic aggregation via WLAN AP 506 over second
communication link 526. For example, communicating component 520
can include, or can be in communication with, a resource granting
component 530 for scheduling and/or granting resources to UE 515
for communicating with eNodeB 505 over first communication link
525, a scheduling parameter component 532 for generating and
transmitting one or more parameters for scheduling, granting, or
otherwise indicating parameters for determining resources for
communications between UE 515 and WLAN AP 506 over second
communication link 526 as well, and/or an optional scheduling
parameter request receiving component 536 for receiving a request
for scheduling parameters from UE 515 for communicating over the
second communication link 526.
Moreover, for example, UE 515 can be provisioned to implement
traffic aggregation over communication links 525 and 526 (and/or
additional communication links between eNodeB 505 and UE 515 and/or
between WLAN AP 506 and UE) by the eNodeB 505. For example, UE 515
can include a communicating component 540 for receiving a traffic
aggregation configuration specifying to communicate with both
eNodeB 505 using a related transceiver (e.g., LTE/UMTS radio) and
with WLAN AP 506 using a related transceiver (e.g., WiFi radio) to
access a WWAN or cellular network. As described, traffic
aggregation can be configured and implemented to allow
communications at lower layers of the UE 515 (e.g., PHY/MAC layer
or RLC/PDCP layer) using different RANs to be aggregated by higher
layers (e.g., PDCP or Internet protocol (IP) layer), such that a
high level operating system (HLOS), applications operating on the
HLOS, a user interface, etc. may be agnostic to the presence of
traffic aggregation.
Communicating component 540 can include, or can be in communication
with, a scheduling parameter receiving component 550 for receiving
one or more parameters from an anchor node, such as eNodeB 505 or
WLAN AP 506, for communicating with one or more eNodeBs or WLAN APs
using traffic aggregation, a communication scheduling component 552
for scheduling communications over a first communication link 525
with an eNodeB 505 and a second communication link 526 with a WLAN
AP 506 based at least in part on the one or more parameters from
the anchor node, and/or an optional scheduling parameter requesting
component 554 for requesting one or more scheduling parameters from
the anchor node for communicating over communication links 525
and/or 526 to facilitate traffic aggregation over the links,
related CCs, bearers, etc. In any case, communicating component 520
can be configured to transmit communications for receipt by
communicating component 540 over first communication link 525 and
over second communication link 526 via WLAN AP 506, in this regard.
Similarly, as described further herein, communicating component 520
can configure communicating component 540 to transmit
communications to eNodeB 505 over first communication link 525 and
via WLAN AP 506 over second communication link 526.
It is to be appreciated that communicating components 520 and/or
540, and/or components thereof, may include or may be implemented
by one or more components of a device (e.g., a UE 902, eNB 904,
etc.) to facilitate wired or wireless communication of data between
devices. For example, communicating components 520 and/or 540 may
include or may be implemented as hardware, a computer-readable
medium executed by a processor, etc. on a device. In one specific
example, communicating components 520 and/or 540 may include or may
be implemented by at least one of a TX processor 220, 264 to
transmit signals over antennas 234, 252, a RX processor 238, 258 to
receive signals over antennas 234, 252, a controller/processor 240,
280 to execute one or more functions described herein, etc.
Referring to FIG. 6, method 600 includes, at Block 610,
communicating with a first access point using a first RAT to access
a first wireless network. Communicating component 540 can
communicate with the first access point (e.g., eNodeB 505) using
the first RAT (e.g., LTE, UMTS, etc.) to access the first wireless
network (e.g., using first communication link 525). As described,
communicating component 540 can include or can otherwise be in
communication with a transceiver to communicate with the eNodeB 505
using the first RAT. Method 600 also includes, at Block 612,
communicating with a second access point using a second RAT to
access a second wireless network. Thus, communicating component 540
can communicate with the second access point (e.g., WLAN AP 506)
using the second RAT (e.g., WiFi) to access the second wireless
network (e.g., using second communication link 526). As described,
communicating component 540 can include or can otherwise be in
communication with another transceiver to communicate with the WLAN
AP 506 using the second RAT. In one example, eNodeB 505 can
configure traffic aggregation for UE 515 such that UE 515
communicates with both eNodeB 505 and WLAN AP 506 over respective
first communication link 525 and second communication link 526 to
access a network related to the eNodeB 505. In this regard, as
described, WLAN AP 506 can communicate UE 515 traffic with the
eNodeB 505 to provide the traffic aggregation for the UE 515 via
second communication link 526.
As described, providing traffic aggregation in this regard can
improve efficiency in communications of the UE 515, provide
connection diversity using the multiple links, etc. Moreover, the
RAN connection between UE 515 and WLAN AP 506 may be opportunistic
(e.g., not based on a schedule), and thus may allow the UE 515 to
determine an amount of data to transmit once the UE seizes the
channel with the WLAN AP 506. This adds complexity to coordinating
communications over communication links 525 and 526. Thus, as
described further herein, eNodeB 505 can manage aspects of the
connection between UE 515 and WLAN AP 506 to allow improved
coordination over the communication links 525 and 526.
Accordingly, method 600 includes, at Block 614, receiving, from the
first access point, one or more parameters for scheduling
communications with the second access point. Scheduling parameter
receiving component 550 can receive, from the first access point
(e.g., eNodeB 505), the one or more parameters for scheduling
communications with the second access point (e.g., WLAN AP 506).
Method 600 also includes, at Block 616, configuring communications
with the second access point based at least in part on the one or
more parameters. Communication scheduling component 552 can
configure communications with the second access point (e.g., WLAN
AP 506) based at least in part on the one or more parameters. For
example, communication scheduling component 552 can configure the
communications after second communication link 526 is initialized
and/or at any time during active communications over one or more
carriers of the second communication link 526 (e.g., based on
receiving the one or more parameters from eNodeB 505).
Referring to FIG. 7, method 700 includes, at Block 710,
communicating with a UE using a first RAT. eNodeB 505 Communicating
component 520 can communicate with the UE (e.g., UE 515) using the
first RAT (e.g., the RAT of the eNodeB 505, which may be LTE, UMTS,
etc.) over first communication link 525. As described,
communicating component 520 can include or can otherwise be in
communication with a transceiver to communicate with the UE 515
using the first RAT. Method 700 also includes, at Block 712,
communicating with the UE using traffic aggregation via a second
access point that uses a second RAT. Thus, communicating component
520 can communicate with the UE 515 using traffic aggregation via a
second access point (e.g., WLAN AP 506) that uses the second RAT
(e.g., WiFi) over second communication link 526 as the second
connection. As described, communicating component 520 can include
or can otherwise be in communication with a transceiver to
communicate with the WLAN AP 506 over a wired or wireless backhaul
link 534. eNodeB 505 can thus configure traffic aggregation for UE
515 such that UE 515 communicates with both eNodeB 505 and WLAN AP
506 to access a network related to the eNodeB 505. In this regard,
as described, WLAN AP 506 can communicate UE 515 traffic with the
eNodeB 505 to provide the traffic aggregation for the UE 515 via
second communication link 526.
Method 700 includes, at Block 714, transmitting a scheduling grant
to the UE for communicating using the first RAT. Resource granting
component 530 can transmit the scheduling grant to the UE (e.g., UE
515) for communicating using the first RAT (e.g. over first
communication link 525). The scheduling grant can schedule first
RAT resources to the UE 515 for communicating data to/from eNodeB
505. Method 700 also includes, at Block 716, transmitting one or
more parameters to the UE for configuring communications using the
second RAT. Scheduling parameter component 532 can transmit the one
or more parameters to the UE (e.g., UE 515) for configuring
communications using the second RAT (e.g., the RAT of WLAN AP 506
over a second communication link 526). For example, scheduling
parameter component 532 can transmit the one or more parameters for
configuring the communications over the second communication link
526 (e.g., when the second communication link 526 is initialized
and/or at any time during active communications over one or more
carriers of the second communication link 526).
For example, the one or more parameters can include a maximum
number of resources (e.g., a maximum number of bits/bytes), such as
a packet size, that can be used with the second access point (e.g.,
the WLAN AP 506). In this example, scheduling parameter component
532 can generate and transmit a scheduling parameter that specifies
the maximum amount of resources for using over the second
communication link 526 (e.g., in one or more periods of time) to
the UE 515. In one example, the maximum amount of resources may be
based on the scheduling grant provided to the UE 515 by resource
granting component 530 for first communication link 525. For
example, the maximum amount of resources may be computed as a
percentage of the scheduling grant for the first communication
link, which can ensure the UE 515 does not transmit too much data
over the second communication link 526 such to add complexity to
aggregating the traffic over communication links 525 and 526. In
any case, scheduling parameter receiving component 550 can receive
the maximum amount resources, and communication scheduling
component 552 can use the maximum amount of resources in
configuring communications with the WLAN AP 506 over second
communication link 526 in traffic aggregation such to not exceed
the maximum amount of resources. For example, where the maximum
amount corresponds to a packet size, communication scheduling
component 552 can ensure the packet size of communications over
second communication link 526 do not exceed the maximum packet size
specified in the one or more parameters.
As described further herein, it is to be appreciated that the one
or more parameters may be valid for a specified or configured
period of time, intervals of time, etc., after or between which the
UE 515 can schedule communications without restriction or based on
a configured default parameter value. In this regard, configuring
communications at Block 616 may include, at Block 618, configuring
communications with the second access point based on the parameters
for a duration of time related to the parameters. Communication
scheduling component 552 can configure the communications with the
second access point (e.g., WLAN AP 506) based on the parameters for
the duration of time related to the parameters. The duration of
time may correspond to a time specified in configuration parameters
from the eNodeB 505, a time that is stored in a memory of UE 515,
etc. In addition, the time may correspond to a specific duration
after receiving the one or more parameters, an interval based on
the one or more parameters, etc., during which the parameters are
valid. Transmitting the one or more parameters at Block 716, in
this regard, may also include, at Block 718, transmitting a
parameter related to a duration for applying the one or more
parameters in communicating using the second RAT. Scheduling
parameter component 532 can transmit the parameter related to the
duration for applying the one or more parameters in communicating
using the second RAT. In this example, scheduling parameter
receiving component 550 can also receive the parameter related to
the duration for applying the one or more parameters, and
communication scheduling component 552 can apply the one or more
parameter based on the duration. Where a duration is not
communicated for the one or more parameters, for example,
communication scheduling component 552 can apply the one or more
parameters for a default duration, which may be configured to the
UE 515 when establishing communications with the eNodeB 505, stored
in a memory of UE 515, etc., and/or may apply the one or more
parameters until different values for the one or more parameters
are received from the eNodeB 505 or another access point. Moreover,
in this regard, it is to be appreciated that the eNodeB 505 may
configure the UE 515 with the parameters upon establishing
communication with the eNodeB 505, upon implementation of traffic
aggregation through WLAN AP 506, and/or may periodically update the
one or more parameters.
In another example, the one or more parameters can relate to a
specific amount of resources (e.g., a number of bits/bytes) for
communicating with the WLAN AP 506 over second communication link
526. In this example, scheduling parameter component 532 can signal
the specific amount of resources to UE 515, scheduling parameter
receiving component 550 can receive the specific amount of
resources, and communication scheduling component 552 can configure
communications with WLAN AP 506 over second communication link 526
based on the specific amount of resources. For example,
communication scheduling component 552 can configure transmissions
using the specific amount of resources so as not to exceed the
amount in scheduling communications over the second communication
link 526. In addition, in an example where data to transmit is not
sufficient to utilize the entire amount of resources, communication
scheduling component 552 may configure the transmission to include
the data and may pad a remaining portion of an amount of resources
(e.g., with zeros, random data, etc.) to utilize the whole amount
of resources. In addition, in this regard, resource granting
component 530 may grant resources for first communication link 525
based on the specific grant (e.g., for a larger specific amount of
resources indicated for second communication link 526, resource
granting component 530 may schedule a smaller grant for first
communication link 525 to conserve WWAN resources over the first
communication link 525).
In yet another example, the one or more parameters may relate to a
differential between a reported buffer status by the UE 515 and the
scheduling grant from resource granting component 530. Thus, for
example, method 600 may include, at Block 620, transmitting, to the
first access point, a buffer status report. Communicating component
540 can transmit, to the first access point (e.g., eNodeB 505) the
buffer status report. For example, the buffer status report can
indicate a size of a buffer for packet data communications at the
UE 515 such that the eNodeB 505 can determine a scheduling grant
for the UE 515 based on the buffer size (e.g., a larger grant when
the buffer is of a larger size to allow the UE 515 to communicate
additional data in a next transmission). Similarly, method 700 can
include, at Block 720, receiving, from the UE, a buffer status
report. Communicating component 520 can receive, from the UE (e.g.,
UE 515), the buffer status report. In this example, resource
granting component 530 may indicate a grant of resources based on
the buffer status report that may not allow for transmission of all
data in the buffer, and may grant the resources to UE 515. In this
example, scheduling parameter receiving component 550 can determine
an amount of resources for the second communication link 526 based
at least in part on the differential between the reported buffer
status and the grant received from eNodeB 505. Accordingly,
communication scheduling component 552 can configure communication
of data from the buffer as reported in the buffer status report
over first communication link 525 over the first communication link
525, and may configure communication of additional data from the
buffer over the second communication link 526 based on the
differential. In this example, communication scheduling component
552 can determine the buffer status based on the buffer status
report communicated by communicating component 540 to eNodeB 505.
Communication scheduling component 552 can then also configure the
remainder of the buffer on second communication link 526. In this
regard, UE 515 can transmit on first communication link 525 first,
and then up to the differential on second communication link 526.
Moreover, if additional packets arrive for sending after
communicating component 540 sends the buffer status report to the
eNodeB 505 (e.g., and before sending another buffer status report),
communication scheduling component 552 can additionally configure
these packets for transmission over second communication link
526.
In another example, the one or more parameters may relate to a
target or maximum throughput (e.g., bits per second) for second
communication link 526. Associated parameters for calculating the
throughput can also be signaled by scheduling parameter component
532 to the UE 515 or otherwise known by UE 515. For example, the
one or more parameters may specify the maximum throughput as
applicable for a duration or until another throughput is received,
as described above. In either case, scheduling parameter component
532 can transmit the target maximum throughput to UE 515,
scheduling parameter receiving component 550 can receive the target
maximum throughput, and communication scheduling component 552 can
configure communications over second communication link 526 to
ensure that communications do not exceed the maximum
throughput.
In this example, communication scheduling component 552 can measure
throughput of communications with WLAN AP 506 over second
communication link 526 to determine an achieved throughput using
one or more throughput calculation parameters (e.g., filtering
coefficients, parameters specifying how often to update the
calculated throughput, parameters related to determining the
throughput in a sliding window of observation, etc.). Communication
scheduling component 552 can accordingly configure more or less
data on second communication link 526 in subsequent transmissions
to adhere to the maximum throughput. For example, parameters
related to throughput calculation (e.g., filtering coefficients, an
interval after which to update the throughput, a size of a sliding
window to observe in calculating the throughput, etc.) can also be
received in the one or more parameters from scheduling parameter
component 532, can be default parameters configured by UE 515
(e.g., based on a configuration when establishing communications
with eNodeB 505, stored in a memory of UE 515, and/or the like),
etc. In a specific example, communication scheduling component 552
may implement a finite impulse response (FIR) or infinite impulse
response (IIR) filter to compute the throughput based at least in
part on the one or more filtering coefficients and an instantaneous
rate for data transmission (e.g., packet size divided by
transmission duration). For example, the IIR filter may compute:
T(n+1)=(1-.alpha.)*T(n)+.alpha.*x(n) and the FIR filter may
compute:
.function..times..beta..function..function. ##EQU00001## where T(n)
and T(n+1) are throughputs at a time period n (e.g., at a subframe,
transmission time interval, or some other measurement of time
related or unrelated to the communication timeline of the wireless
communication technology), .alpha. and .beta. are the filtering
coefficients known by the communication scheduling component 552
and/or scheduling parameter component 532 (where .beta.(k) may be
different for each k), which may be configured at the UE 515,
specified by the scheduling parameter component 532 and received by
scheduling parameter receiving component 550, etc., as described,
x(n) is the instantaneous rate for data transmission in time period
n (e.g., packet size transmitted at time period n divided by a
transmission time unit), and M is a historical number of time
periods n used in computing the throughput.
In yet another example, the one or more parameters can relate to a
ratio between a resource grant for first communication link 525 and
for second communication link 526. Thus, in an example, scheduling
parameter component 532 can transmit the ratio, scheduling
parameter receiving component 550 can receive the ratio, and
communication scheduling component 552 can configure communications
over second communication link 526 by computing an amount of data
to schedule based on the received resource grant from resource
granting component 530 and the received ratio (e.g., multiplying
the size of the received resource grant by the ratio). Thus, it is
to be appreciated that when the resource grant for the first
communication link 525, which can be provided dynamically, changes,
the data to schedule on the second communication link 526 may also
change based on the ratio. In one example, scheduling parameter
component 532 can determine the ratio based on channel quality of
one or more channels over first communication link 525.
Additionally, for example, the one or more parameters can relate to
a ratio between throughput rates for first communication link 525
and for second communication link 526. Thus, in an example,
scheduling parameter component 532 can transmit the ratio,
scheduling parameter receiving component 550 can receive the ratio,
and communication scheduling component 552 can configure
communications over second communication link 526 by computing an
amount of data to configure based on a throughput of first
communication link 525 and the received ratio (e.g., multiplying
the throughput by the ratio). In an example, communication
scheduling component 552 can determine the throughput achievable
over the first communication link 525 based on the serving grant
provided by the eNodeB 505 for the first communication link 525
(e.g., based on an amount of resources provided by the serving
grant, a modulation and coding scheme used in communicating over
the serving grant, etc.). In an example, the period of time over
which to observe the throughput may be configured by eNodeB 505 as
well. In an example, communication scheduling component 552 can
measure throughput of communications with WLAN AP 506 over second
communication link 526 to determine an achieved throughput using
one or more throughput calculation parameters (e.g., parameters
specifying how often to update the calculated throughput,
parameters related to determining the throughput in a sliding
window of observation, etc.), as described. Communication
scheduling component 552 can accordingly configure more or less
data on second communication link 526 in subsequent transmissions
to adhere to the target throughput determined based on the ratio to
the throughput over the first communication link 525. For example,
parameters related to throughput calculation (e.g., an interval
after which to update the throughput, a size of a sliding window to
observe in calculating the throughput, etc.) can also be received
in the one or more parameters from scheduling parameter component
532, can be default parameters configured by UE 515 (e.g., based on
a configuration when establishing communications with eNodeB 505,
stored in a memory of UE 515, and/or the like), etc.
In another example, the one or more parameters can relate to a
ratio of buffered data to be transmitted over second communication
link 526. In this example, communicating component 540 can
communicate a buffer status report to eNodeB 505, as described, and
resource granting component 530 can determine a resource grant for
first communication link 525 based on the buffer status report and
the ratio. The ratio, in this example, can be signaled and/or
determined prior to scheduling the resource grant based on the
buffer status report. In any case, communicating component 540
receives the resource grant from eNodeB 505, and communication
scheduling component 552 can configure communications from the
buffer over first communication link 525 based on the resource
grant, and over second communication link 526 based on the ratio
and/or the amount of data remaining in the buffer. Thus, for
example, resource granting component 530 can schedule a smaller
grant for first communication link 525 by indicating a larger ratio
for scheduling communications over second communication link 526.
As described in one example, the ratio can be determined based on
quality of first communication link 525.
In a further example, the one or more parameters can relate to a
response to a request for approval to transmit a certain amount of
data over second communication link 526. Thus, for example, method
600 may optionally include, at Block 622, transmitting, to the
first access point, a request for resources for communicating with
the second access point. Scheduling parameter requesting component
554 can transmit, to the first access point (e.g., eNodeB 505), the
request for resources for communicating with the second access
point (e.g., WLAN AP 506 over the second communication link 526).
Similarly, method 700 may optionally include, at Block 722,
receiving, from the UE, a request for resources for communicating
with the second access point. Scheduling parameter request
receiving component 536 can receive, from the UE (e.g., UE 515),
the request for resources for communicating with the second access
point (e.g., WLAN AP 506). For example, scheduling parameter
requesting component 554 may generate the request for resources
based at least in part on computing resources for achieving a
desired throughput (e.g., over the second communication link 526
and/or the first communication link 525), a reported buffer status,
a previous grant received for the first communication link 525, a
throughput achieved or achievable over the first communication link
525 (e.g., based on modulation and coding scheme), and/or the like.
In any case, in this example, scheduling parameter request
receiving component 524 can obtain the request, and can indicate
whether the request is granted or denied, an alternative amount of
resources that can be utilized to transmit data, etc. Scheduling
parameter requesting component 554 can receive the response, and
can accordingly transmit data over second communication link 526
based on the response.
In the above examples, where the parameters are based on the
resource grant for the first communication link 525, scheduling
parameter component 532 may send the one or more parameters for
communicating over the second communication link 526 less often
than the resource grant. In any case, scheduling parameter
component 532 can periodically update and transmit the one or more
parameters, scheduling parameter receiving component 550 can
receive the updated parameter(s), and communication scheduling
component 552 can ensure communications over second communication
link 526 comply with the parameter(s).
Moreover, for example, scheduling parameter component 532 may
generate the one or more parameters described above based on
feedback received from the UE 515, where the feedback can relate to
channel conditions (e.g., a received signal strength indicator
(RSSI)) with WLAN AP 506, an MCS, a channel rate, channel
interference, or other reports from the UE 515 (e.g., regarding
second communication link 526). Thus, for example, scheduling
parameter component 532 may generate the one or more parameters to
indicate a higher resource usage for the second communication link
526 where the channel conditions over the first communication link
525 achieve a threshold. It is to be appreciated that scheduling
parameter component 532 may additionally or alternatively generate
the one or more parameters based on similar feedback information
received from the WLAN AP 506 (e.g., feedback of communicating with
UE 515), which eNodeB 505 may receive from WLAN AP 506 over
backhaul link 534. In addition, for example, scheduling parameter
component 532 may generate the ratios or other grants based on
limitations of the WLAN AP 506 that may be communicated to eNodeB
505 (e.g., an available bandwidth, a number of users or current
connections, an average throughput, etc. of the WLAN AP 506).
In addition, scheduling parameter component 532 may generate and
transmit the one or more parameters per component carrier, per
logical channel, per logical channel group, etc. over communication
links 525 and 526 or for all channels. For example, a logical
channel having a guaranteed bit rate (e.g., for voice over LTE),
scheduling parameter component 532 may assign a maximum amount of
resources for utilization over second communication link 526,
whereas scheduling parameter component 532 may use more dynamic
allocations of resources (e.g., based on ratios of the resource
grant for the first communication link 525) for other channels.
Also, it is to be appreciated that scheduling parameter component
532 can signal the one or more parameters (e.g., for a given
component carrier, channel, channel group, etc.) related to the
parameters over an RRC or similar communication layer to UE 515. It
is to be appreciated that the scheduling parameter component 532
can modify the parameters for all component carriers, channels,
channel groups, etc., or for certain component carriers, channel
groups, etc. by signaling parameters to the UE 515.
In any case, the one or more parameters may also include one or
more validation parameters that specify a start time, stop time,
duration, interval, etc., as described above, for configuring the
communications using the one or more parameters. For example,
scheduling parameter component 532 can communicate the one or more
validation parameters to the UE 515, scheduling parameter receiving
component 550 can receive the one or more validation parameters,
and communication scheduling component 552 can configure
communications with WLAN AP 506 starting at the specified start
time, ending at the specified end time, for the specified duration
after receiving the parameters, according to an interval specified
by the parameters, etc. For example, after the end time or the end
of the duration, communication scheduling component 552 can
configure communications with the WLAN AP 406 using one or more
default parameters configured at the UE 515, one or more next
received parameters from eNodeB 505 or another access point,
etc.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example
hardware implementation for an apparatus 800 employing a processing
system 814 configured in accordance with an aspect of the present
disclosure. The processing system 814 includes a communicating
component 840. In one example, the apparatus 800 may be the same or
similar, or may be included with one of the UEs and/or eNodeBs
described in various Figures. In such example, the communicating
component 840 may correspond to, for example, the communicating
component 520, the communicating component 540, etc., and may thus
be configured to perform functions described of the various
components thereof, functions described in methods 600 and 700 in
FIGS. 6 and 7, etc. In this example, the processing system 814 may
be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by
the bus 802. The bus 802 may include any number of interconnecting
buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the
processing system 814 and the overall design constraints. The bus
802 links together various circuits including one or more
processors (e.g., central processing units (CPUs),
microcontrollers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),
field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)) represented generally by
the processor 804, and computer-readable media, represented
generally by the computer-readable medium 806. The bus 802 may also
link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals,
voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well
known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.
A bus interface 808 provides an interface between the bus 802 and a
transceiver 810, which is connected to one or more antennas 820 for
receiving or transmitting signals. The transceiver 810 and the one
or more antennas 820 provide a mechanism for communicating with
various other apparatus over a transmission medium (e.g.,
over-the-air). Depending upon the nature of the apparatus, a user
interface (UI) 812 (e.g., keypad, display, speaker, microphone,
joystick) may also be provided.
The processor 804 is responsible for managing the bus 802 and
general processing, including the execution of software stored on
the computer-readable medium 806. The software, when executed by
the processor 804, causes the processing system 814 to perform the
various functions described herein for any particular apparatus.
The computer-readable medium 806 may also be used for storing data
that is manipulated by the processor 804 when executing software.
The communicating component 840 as described above may be
implemented in whole or in part by processor 804, or by
computer-readable medium 806, or by any combination of processor
804 and computer-readable medium 806.
Those of skill in the art would understand that information and
signals may be represented using any of a variety of different
technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,
commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may
be referenced throughout the above description may be represented
by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or
particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination
thereof.
Those of skill would further appreciate that the various
illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps
described in connection with the disclosure herein may be
implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or
combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability
of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks,
modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in
terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is
implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular
application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.
Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in
varying ways for each particular application, but such
implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a
departure from the scope of the present disclosure.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits
described in connection with the disclosure herein may be
implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a
digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, an FPGA or other
programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,
discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed
to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose
processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the
processor may be any conventional processor, controller,
microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be
implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a
combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of
microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a
DSP core, or any other such configuration.
The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the
disclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a
software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the
two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM
memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a
removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known
in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor
such that the processor can read information from, and write
information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage
medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the
storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user
terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium
may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.
In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described may be
implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination
thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on
or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a
computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both
computer storage media and communication media including any medium
that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to
another. A storage media may be any available media that can be
accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way
of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can
comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,
magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any
other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program
code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that
can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer,
or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any
connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For
example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or
other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,
twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless
technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the
coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless
technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in
the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes
compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc
(DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce
data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with
lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within
the scope of computer-readable media.
The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable
any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure.
Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to
those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein
may be applied to other variations without departing from the
spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not
intended to be limited to the examples and designs described
herein, but it is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with
the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
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